Grand Slam wins may have become less frequent in recent years for Andy Murray, but the Scot still has what it takes to beat the best on the big stage.
“I think the last few years, I’ve certainly questioned myself at times,” admitted former World No. 1 Murray after outlasting Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open for his first Top 20 victory at a Grand Slam in more than four years. “There’s certainly a lot of people [that] questioned me and my ability, whether I could still perform at the biggest events and the biggest matches.
“I felt very proud of myself after the match. That’s not something that I generally felt over the years at the end of tennis matches.”
Murray Saves MP, Holds Off Berrettini In Five-Set Australian Open Epic
Murray defied a stirring Berrettini comeback from two-sets-to-love down on Rod Laver Arena, saving a match point before dominating the deciding-set tie-break to seal a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(10-6) win. After a series of tough defeats in similarly close encounters at the majors in recent times, the three-time Grand Slam champion believes Tuesday’s victory is just reward for some hard off-season graft.
“I think I’m proud of the work that I put in the last few months,” said Murray, who fell to Berrettini in four sets at the 2022 US Open. “I trained really, really hard over in Florida getting ready to play here. I’m really proud of how I fought through that match at the end, like I said, when it could have got away from me, how I played in the tie-break at the end.
“I was impressed with myself… I’m hard on myself usually. Tonight, I need to give myself some credit because the last few years have been tough. I’ve lost a few of those matches, those type of matches, in the Slams the last couple years, whether that’s the Tsitsipas match [at the 2021 US Open], Isner at Wimbledon [in 2022]. That one could have gone the other way tonight, but I stayed strong, and I deserved to win.”
Make that 5️⃣0️⃣ main draw wins at the #AusOpen for @andy_murray! 👏 🔥 @AustralianOpen
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 17, 2023
The former World No. 1 Murray went back to basics during a three-week off-season training stint at a country club in Boca Raton, where his coach Ivan Lendl resides. Despite falling to Sebastian Korda in straight sets in his season-opener at the Adelaide International 2, the…
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